The present invention relates to a sample yarn-collecting apparatus for preparing a continuous yarn knotted in an end-to-end manner with sample yarns having a certain length from a plurality of packages in order to check the quality and character of the yarns.
In yarn manufacturing plants or spinning plants, sample yarns are collected from surface portions of full wound bobbins and their properties such as strength, elongation, evenness, dyeability and fineness are tested. As means for conducting these tests accurately at high efficiency, there has heretofore been adopted a method in which sample yarns having a certain length are collected from respective packages, these sample yarns are connected to one another in an end-to-end manner to form one continuous yarn and this sample yarn is fed to testing means for the above tests. The principle of this method will now be described by reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. At first, sample yarns 2 having a certain length are taken out and cut from surface portions of many wound bobbins 1, and these sample yarns 2 are connected to one another in an end-to-end manner to form a continuous yarn 4 having many knots 3, as shown in FIG. 2. Then, the continuous yarn 4 is passed through testing means, for example, a dyeability tester 5 shown in FIG. 3. This testing means 5 comprises, for example, a dyeing machine 6 and a measuring and analyzing equipment 7. This dyeing machine includes a scouring zone 8 for scouring a sample yarn, a dyeing zone 9 and a water-washing 10. The continuous yarn 4 is dyed while it passes through these zones 8, 9 and 10 of the dyeing machine 6 in succession, and dyeability characteristics of the respective sample yarns 2 are continuously and relatively determined by the measuring and analyzing equipment 7. If a standard yarn is incorporated in the continuous yarn 4, it will be possible to compare the sample yarn with the standard yarn.
If it is intended to work this method in a continuous manner, it will be necessary to perform continuously in sequence operations of collecting sample yarns having a certain length from respective wound bobbins, connecting the sample yarns to one another in an end-to-end manner to form one continuous yarn and supplying this continuous yarn to testing means, and it will also be necessary to provide an apparatus capable of performing these operations. More specifically, an apparatus having a layout as shown in FIG. 4 must be employed, which apparatus comprises hanging means 11 for supporting a plurality of wound bobbins in the state hung thereon, sample yarn collecting means for collecting sample yarns in succession from said hanging means and connecting the end of each collected sample yarn to the end of the continuous yarn which has been fed to testing means, means 200 for storing the continuous yarn and feeding it to testing means, and testing means 5. This apparatus including a series of the foregoing means requires special elements which are not necessary in other fiber machines treating a continuous yarn at a constant speed in a continuous manner.
In general, it is very difficult to connect two running yarns without stopping them, and practically, the connecting operation is carried out while once stopping the running yarns. Accordingly, also in the above-mentioned apparatus, an element for stopping running of sample yarns for the connecting operation should be included and combined with a series of the foregoing means.
On the other hand, in the testing means, once the continuous yarn is supplied thereto and the test is initiated, the operation of the testing means should not be stopped in the midway. For example, if the above-mentioned dyeing machine is stopped during the test, determined dyeability characteristics of the sample yarn which happened to be dipped in the dyeing zone at the stoppage of the dyeing machine are not reliable and data obtained with respect to this sample yarn cannot be compared with test results of other sample yarns, because the dyeability characteristics vary depending on the time for passage through the dyeing zone.
As is apparent from the foregoing, the above apparatus should include means continuously rotating in a certain direction and means for stopping said rotation in addition to a series of the above-mentioned means. If these additional means are included, the structure, mechanism and operation of the apparatus will be very complicate.
The above apparatus is further required to have an ability to measure lengths of respective yarns precisely and assuredly. In the dyeing machine, the yarn passage from the inlet to the measuring and anylyzing equipment through the dyeing zone is very long, and in general, several or more knots of sample yarns are present along this yarn passage. Accordingly, in order to prevent confusion of the sequence of connection of the sample yarns, it is necessary to discriminate the knotting points assuredly and to prevent knots from getting loose in the dyeing zone or from being entangled with other knots. In view of the foregoing, it will be possible to include knotting means as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Specifications No. 123964/75 and No. 123965/75 into the above apparatus comprising a series of the above-mentioned means and also include yarn storing means as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 9865/72 into the above apparatus, and to try to utilize the resulting apparatus for working a method comprising collecting sample yarns having a certain length from many wound bobbins, connecting them to one another in an end-to-end manner to form one continuous yarn and feeding the resulting test yarn continuously to testing means.
However, it has been found that this trial results in the following disadvantages.
(1) The knotting mechanism is complicate, and a long yarn end is left in a package from which a sample yarn has been collected and it is readily entrangled with a yarn end of a package from which a sample yarn is going to be collected. Further, in the combination of the hanging means with packages, troublesome operations such as pick finding are involved and the apparatus system is large and lacks in versatility. Accordingly, this system can hardly be put into practical application.
(2) The testing means still involves various defects. For example, when a trouble takes place, a complete and prompt measure cannot be taken to expel the trouble, and because a number of independent steps are included, test results cannot be obtained promptly. Furthermore, the sequence of sample yarns is readily confused or the sample yarn feeding operation is complicate. When running of test yarn has to be stopped because of yarn breakage or the like trouble in the measuring and analyzing equipment, since a long time has passed from the start of the sampling operation, it is very troublesome and difficult to find out and re-collect samples with respect to all the sample yarns wound on the sample cheese on which the broken sample yarn has been wound. Accordingly, it is impossible to cope with such trouble at a high efficiency. Moreover, since a great number of sample yarns are wound on one sample cheese and the first collected sample yarn is subjected to the test finally, it takes a long time to obtain test results of all the sample yarns on one sample cheese and the sequence of appearance of test results in sample yarns on one sample cheese is reverse to the sampling sequence. Therefore, confusion is readily caused. Furthermore, since feeding of sample cheeses to the testing machine is accomplished through an operator, a trouble or errneous operation is readily caused.
(3) It is necessary to solve a problem how to combine the knotting means with the yarn storing means while allowing them to exert their functions most effectively.